# 天神
## Chinese
### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): tiānshén
    (Zhuyin): ㄊㄧㄢ ㄕㄣˊ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): tin$^1$ san$^4$
* Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): thian-sîn
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: tiānshén
*** Zhuyin: ㄊㄧㄢ ㄕㄣˊ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: tianshén
*** Wade–Giles: tʻien$^1$-shên$^2$
*** Yale: tyān-shén
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tianshern
*** Palladius: тяньшэнь (tjanʹšɛnʹ)
*** Sinological IPA : /tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʂən³⁵/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: tin$^1$ san$^4$
*** Yale: tīn sàhn
*** Cantonese Pinyin: tin$^1$ san$^4$
*** Guangdong Romanization: tin$^1$ sen$^4$
*** Sinological IPA : /tʰiːn⁵⁵ sɐn²¹/
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Longyan, General Taiwanese)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thian-sîn
*** Tâi-lô: thian-sîn
*** Phofsit Daibuun: tiensiin
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ sin²³/
*** IPA (Taipei): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ sin²⁴/
*** IPA (Longyan): /tʰiɛn³³⁴ sin¹¹/
*** IPA (Quanzhou): /tʰiɛn³³ sin²⁴/
*** IPA (Zhangzhou): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² sin¹³/
*** IPA (Xiamen): /tʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² sin²⁴/

### Noun

天神
* god; godhead; divinity
* the heavenly gods (opposed to ancestors and earth spirits)

#### Coordinate terms

* 地祇 (dìqí)

### Further reading

* Ding, Fubao (丁福保) (1922), “天神” in 佛學大辭典 [A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms].

## Japanese
### Etymology 1

Kanji in this term :
| 天 | 神 |
| てん Grade: 1 | じん Grade: 3 |
| on'yomi | goon |
* Alternative spelling
* 天神 (kyūjitai)
From Middle Chinese 天神 (MC then zyin). Compare modern Mandarin 天神 (tiānshén, “god, godhead, divinity”).

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) てんじん [tèńjíń] (Heiban – [0])
* IPA: [tẽ̞ɲ̟d͡ʑĩɴ]

##### Usage notes

Less commonly read using the kan'on reading tenshin.

#### Noun

天(てん)神(じん) • (tenjin)
* (Japanese mythology) all gods in the 高天原 (Takama ga Hara, “Plain of High Heaven”), the heavenly abode ruled by 天照 (Amaterasu)
* a noble wearing 直衣 (nōshi, “robes not dyed to match the wearer's rank”)
* an umeboshi (from the way that Sugawara no Michizane (see Proper noun below) was very fond of ume)
* an umeboshi pit
* short for 天神髷 (tenjin mage) or 天神結び (tenjin musubi), a style of bow-shaped topknot or bun worn by women, popular in the late 1800s
* (historical) the second highest ranked courtesan after the 太夫 (tayū), in Kamigata
    Synonyms: 転進 (“tenshin”), 天職 (“tenshoku”), 梅 (ume)

##### Synonyms

* (gods): 天(あま)つ神(かみ) (amatsukami)
* (umeboshi): 梅干(うめぼ)し (umeboshi)
* (hairstyle): 天神髷(てんじんまげ) (tenjinmage), 天神結(てんじんむす)び (tenjinmusubi)

##### Derived terms

* 天神地祇(てんじんちぎ) (tenjinchigi): all the gods of heaven and earth
* 天神七代(てんじんしちだい) (Tenjin Shichidai): the seven generations of gods in Shintō mythology

#### Proper noun

天(てん)神(じん) • (Tenjin)
* the Shinto kami of scholarship, the deification of Sugawara no Michizane (845-903 CE), a scholar, poet, and politician
* a shrine dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane
* one of the traditional Noh masks, depicting one of the 鬼神 (onigami; kijin, “fierce gods”) as the vengeful spirit of Sugawara no Michizane, the lead role in the 雷電 (Raiden) piece
* A neighbourhood of downtown Fukuoka

##### Synonyms

* (shrine): 天満宮(てんまんぐう) (Tenman-gū)

##### Derived terms

* 天神(てんじん)ぞ (tenjinzo): (archaic) for sure, for certain, absolutely, definitely
* 天神講(てんじんこう) (Tenjin Kō): a matsuri celebrating Sugawara no Michizane, held on the date of his death, 25 February (or on the 25th of every month)
* 天神祭(てんじんまつり) (Tenjin Matsuri): a matsuri celebrating Sugawara no Michizane, held on the date of his death, 25 February (or on the 25th of every month)
* 天神橋(てんじんばし) (Tenjin-bashi): a bridge over the Yodo River in Ōsaka
* 天神髭(てんじんひげ) (Tenjin-hige): a beard of the style shown in depictions of Sugawara no Michizane
* 天神山(てんじんやま) (Tenjin-yama): the name of various mountains and other places around Japan
* 天神山古墳(てんじんやまこふん) (Tenjin-yama Kofun): a late-fourth-century kofun tomb in Gunma prefecture

### Etymology 2

Kanji in this term :
| 天 | 神 |
| あま(つ) Grade: 1 | かみ Grade: 3 |
| kun'yomi ||
* Alternative spelling
* 天神 (kyūjitai)
For pronunciation and definitions of 天神 – see the following entry. :
| 【天津神あまつかみ】 | [noun] (Shinto) the gods of the heavens Alternative spelling 天つ神 |
(This term, 天神, is an alternative spelling of the above term.) :

### References

* ↑ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
* ↑ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* ↑ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

## Korean

Hanja in this term :
| 天 | 神 |

### Noun

天神 • (cheonsin) (hangeul 천신)
* hanja form of 천신

## Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term :
| 天 | 神 |

### Noun

天神
* chữ Hán form of thiên thần (“angel”).